Create an Email 🎬

ℹ️ You're viewing the guide for the V2 email editor

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If you are creating your first email, working out how to do it might seem a little daunting. However, it is very easy to get a great looking email together on your first go - especially if you start from one of our many templates.

Drag & Drop Editor (most popular)

This is the most common option for building emails in our platform as it provides a powerful, flexible editor which allows for dragging & dropping components, creating columns, simple reordering of components and so on. This is covered in the how-to guide below.

Did you know that you can use AI to help create engaging emails for you? Read more about our Content Assistant.

Import HTML Code

This option allows you to upload an existing HTML file that you can then use as your email message. If you create a message using this method, you'll only be able to edit it in HTML - so this isn't recommend for new users or those without HTML code experience.

Furthermore, you'll need to ensure your HTML code contains the necessary code to make the email mobile-friendly as, unlike when using our Drag & Drop Editor, this is not added automatically.

Import a Raw HTML Email

HTML & Text-only Emails

You can also create your own HTML-only, text-only, or HTML-and-text emails using our simplified WYSIWYG editor. This method provides a toolbar to allow the end user to edit text and images only. If a design change (as in adding in another component) is required, this will need to be coded in HTML.

To use this method, follow steps 1 & 2 in the guide below, then select the ⋮ button in the template gallery (as shown), to access the various options on the pop-down menu.

How-to Guide 

Start With an Email Template

1. Select Messages from the sidebar.
2. On the messages screen, click New Message.
   
3. You can now select from a range of pre-built templates (sorted into various categories), or create an email from a blank template. If you or any other users in your account have created any email templates previously, you'll see a My Templates option at the top of the category selector - so having a look in this section (if available) may also be worthwhile. There is also a toggle to Hide Classic Templates (as shown below), which will allow us to select from the more modern templates.
   
4. In today's example, we'll be using the 'Short eNewsletter' tempalte (previewed below), so that's the one we'll select to use for our new email. Once you've found a template you like, hover over it and click Open Template.
   
5. The chosen email template will now open in our drag-and-drop email editor, ready for customisation.

Customising Your Email

Now that we have our short eNewsletter template open in the drag-and-drop editor, let's start making some changes.

1. The template has a sample logo ("XYZ Corp") to the top left - let's replace this with our own. Double-click on the existing logo to open the Files & Image manager.
   
2. If you've already uploaded your logo previously, locate it here in the image library - otherwise, click Upload to upload the logo from your computer. Select your logo image and click Insert.
3. Let's replace the large banner image with our own. Double-click on the existing image to open the Files & Image manager.
4. If you've already uploaded an image previously, locate it here in the image library - otherwise, click Upload to upload the image from your computer. Select your image and click Insert. Looking good so far!
   
5. Underneath this image, you will notice a text component. Double-click into the text component to open it into editing mode.
6. Most of our modern templates will include placeholder text that offers tips, tricks and ideas on editing the template - so please have a read if you wish to learn more about using and editing the template. When ready, replace the text with your own.
7. Let's add a link inside our text. Highlight the section you'd like to link, and click the link (chain) icon as shown.
   

8. The link dialog will appear, allowing you can set where the link goes when clicked by the recipient. Add the desired link, and click Insert Link when done. Your link has now been added.

   Explore the different ways you can add links to your email.

   

9. Now we'll personalise the email by adding the recipients' first name into the email introduction (you can also add it into the subject line, which will increase your open & engagement rate; see our guide linked below for more details). While still in edit mode, place your flashing cursor where you want the first name to appear.
10. Click the WC (wildcard) icon in the floating toolbar.
11. Choose the list and list field that you would like to insert as a wildcard. Optionally enter a Fallback word or phrase. This will appear for recipients if they do not have any data in the selected wildcard field.

12. Once the wildcard has been inserted in your message, it will appear as a code with %% in front and behind the field name, and underscores (_) replacing any spaces that may have been in your field name (e.g. %%First_Name%%, as shown below).

    Personalising your email messages with Wildcards.

    

13. Let's add an image off to the side of our text block. There's a few ways to do this - you can either click and drag an Image component (from the component selector on the left) into your email and to the right of the text (which will make 2 columns) - or, you can click into your text and add an image inside the text component In our example, we'll be adding an image off to the side to create a second column - to do so, click the Contents tab to the left, then locate the Image component.
    
    Click and drag an image component to the right of the introductory text component. Be sure to watch the placement indicator to make sure it's going to drop into the correct place when you let go of the mouse button.
    
    
14. With the blank image component now sitting off to the side in a 50 / 50 two-column layout, double-click on it to open the Files & Image manager and use your own image instead.
    V6TIP: Remember, you also have access to a stock library with millions of images. You can find this in the Files & Images manager under the Stock Images section near the top ...you can even crop and resize them if needed!
15. Now that we've added an image, let's resize the columns a bit so the image isn't as big. To change the width of a column, move your mouse pointer between the two components until you see your pointer change - then click and drag left or right to adjust the widths. Let's make the image column is 40% (meaning the text one will be 60%).
16. Let's add some padding to the image so it's not right up against the banner above it. Click on the image once, then locate the Settings tab to the left and look for the Padding panel.
    
17. Set the padding as needed; we're using 20 in our example.
    
18. Let's add a button underneath this row. To do so, click the Contents tab to the left, then locate the Button component.
19. Click and drag a button component underneath the row we've been working in. Again, be careful to watch the placement indicator to make sure it's going to drop into the correct place when you let go of the mouse button.
    
20. With the button dragged into your email design, set its parameters (such as text, link, width, colour, padding, font options and so on) using the various panels within the Settings and Styles tabs on the left side.
21. Double-click on any remaining text and image components and make adjustments as required - by either replacing images, updating text, or adding links.
22. Highlight and delete (bin icon) any remaining components within the template that you don't need.
23. When ready, click Save to save your message - give it a subject, a name and you're done!

Congratulations on creating your first email! The video and steps above were a quick look into just some of the many features available in the email editor and our product.

Other features and functions include automations, the ability to duplicate components, wildcards (mail-merge fields), conditional content (parts of your email that changes based on recipient criteria) and much more!

Next Steps

Now that you have created and saved your first email, here are some next steps to try...

• Conduct a Spam Check on an Email
• Send a Test Email
• Test Your Email With Litmus Inbox Previews
• Import & Upload Contacts
• Send an Email to Your Contacts
• Create an Email Template

Power Session Video

Check out our video recording below, from a Vision6 Power Session on this topic.